The street sweeper

RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,893 moderator
edited September 19, 2009 in Street and Documentary
1.
653123779_CYVwS-L.jpg

2.
653124461_hWeAD-L.jpg

Thanks for looking. C&C always welcome.

Comments

  • Wil DavisWil Davis Registered Users Posts: 1,692 Major grins
    edited September 18, 2009
    I like them both.

    #1: is ever so slightly too contrasty for my taste, but the juxtaposition of the group on the right with the solitude of the sweeper and his trusty barrow is great.

    #2: brilliant idea! I wonder if you could make the window & contents less intrusive and the reflections more? …sort of reverse the way they are at the moment? I like the sharp focus of the sweeper & barrow, but I'd prefer to see them with the range of contrast you have in the window & contents; and lower the contrast of the window etc.

    Here's what I think is happening in #2: Much later that same day: The barrow being too tired, has refused to do any more work, and the sweeper, getting fed up with the cantankerous barrow, has decided to teach it a lesson, once and for all (look at how he's holding the shovel)… (to be continued…)

    Nice job! thumb.gif

    - Wil
    "…………………" - Marcel Marceau
  • alexfalexf Registered Users Posts: 436 Major grins
    edited September 18, 2009
    Agree with Wil on the second one. I find the first one overexposed.
    AlexFeldsteinPhotography.com
    Nikon D700, D300, D80 and assorted glass, old and new.
  • adbsgicomadbsgicom Registered Users Posts: 3,615 Major grins
    edited September 18, 2009
    Agree w/ Wil. Love your compositions.
    - Andrew

    Who is wise? He who learns from everyone.
    My SmugMug Site
  • RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,893 moderator
    edited September 18, 2009
    Thanks for the kind word, Wil, Alex and Andrew. thumb.gif I think I may have pushed the first one too far in post. It was shade-your-eyes bright out there and I was trying to recapture that feeling, but it sounds like I might need to back off some.

    Cheers,
  • bdcolenbdcolen Registered Users Posts: 3,804 Major grins
    edited September 18, 2009
    Richard wrote:
    Thanks for the kind word, Wil, Alex and Andrew. thumb.gif I think I may have pushed the first one too far in post. It was shade-your-eyes bright out there and I was trying to recapture that feeling, but it sounds like I might need to back off some.

    Cheers,
    Actually, Richard, I'd burn the street sweeper in more in the first one to make him stand out better. I might also crop a bit up the left and across the top. I really like the shot, but the subjects are a bit too far off.
    bd@bdcolenphoto.com
    "He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan

    "The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed
  • RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,893 moderator
    edited September 19, 2009
    bdcolen wrote:
    Actually, Richard, I'd burn the street sweeper in more in the first one to make him stand out better. I might also crop a bit up the left and across the top. I really like the shot, but the subjects are a bit too far off.

    I reworked it some. How's this?

    653949179_pHCmY-L.jpg
  • bdcolenbdcolen Registered Users Posts: 3,804 Major grins
    edited September 19, 2009
    Richard wrote:
    I reworked it some. How's this?

    Definitely improved!clap.gif Now the juxtaposition between the street sweeper and the 'suits' is much more obvious.
    bd@bdcolenphoto.com
    "He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan

    "The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed
  • dlplumerdlplumer Registered Users Posts: 8,081 Major grins
    edited September 19, 2009
    Richard wrote:
    I reworked it some. How's this?

    653949179_pHCmY-L.jpg

    Excellentclap.gif
  • Wil DavisWil Davis Registered Users Posts: 1,692 Major grins
    edited September 19, 2009
    I think the contrast is better…

    …but I think the crop loses some of the scale of the original.

    - Wil
    "…………………" - Marcel Marceau
  • michswissmichswiss Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,235 Major grins
    edited September 19, 2009
    I like the rework as well. It's extremely hard to work in that sort of direct, harsh light. But, what I find interesting in the shot isn't the people, rather the intersection of the anonymous modern building on the left and the older architecture to the right and I want to know where MacDonalds fits into this cityscape*.

    I don't enjoy the juxtaposition between the street sweeper and the "suits", mainly because the street sweeper is dehumanised by having his back to us. It leaves me bothered.

    * It's nice to think that MacDonalds is an active sponsor of Opera in Spain. I tend to think they are a company that tries to do the right thing.
  • RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,893 moderator
    edited September 19, 2009
    Thanks, BD and Dan. I appreciate it. thumb.gif
  • RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,893 moderator
    edited September 19, 2009
    Wil Davis wrote:
    I think the contrast is better…

    …but I think the crop loses some of the scale of the original.

    - Wil

    Yeah, and in fact, the original was already a 17 x 10 crop of the real original. Part of what I saw when shooting was how all the people were dwarfed by the scale of the building on the left. But you can't have it both ways--I guess I was trying to do that with the original crop.
  • RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,893 moderator
    edited September 19, 2009
    michswiss wrote:
    I like the rework as well. It's extremely hard to work in that sort of direct, harsh light. But, what I find interesting in the shot isn't the people, rather the intersection of the anonymous modern building on the left and the older architecture to the right and I want to know where MacDonalds fits into this cityscape*.

    I don't enjoy the juxtaposition between the street sweeper and the "suits", mainly because the street sweeper is dehumanised by having his back to us. It leaves me bothered.

    * It's nice to think that MacDonalds is an active sponsor of Opera in Spain. I tend to think they are a company that tries to do the right thing.

    Thanks for your comments, Jenn. As I explained above, the original was actually meant to convey the dehumanization of both the sweeper and the suits, but that's not where the image took me in post. Funny how that happens sometimes.

    As for McDonalds, it's a sign pointing to a branch in a nearby plaza, popularly known as Ópera. The building is the Teatro Real, which is Madrid's opera house. It is actually quite a bit older than the other buildings in the frame, but is better maintained. :D Madrid's opera has quite a few corporate sponsors (including Coca Cola and IBM), but AFAIK McDonalds is not one of them.
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